According to a poll conducted by the Associated Press, nearly 90% of Americans believe illegal immigration is a serious problem in the United States, with 67% acknowledging that the issue is extremely/very serious.
The US has been faced with an influx of illegal immigrants coming from Latin America and making their way into the country via the southwestern border. Texas Governor Rick Perry has voiced his criticism of President Obama and accused him of not trying to fix the issue due to his lack of decisiveness. Perry is not alone in his stance on illegal immigration. 85% of Americans believe immigration is an important issue and 89% think illegal immigration is a serious problem.
In a random survey of 1,044 adults the Associated Press conducted interviews from July 24-28 via phone or mail. Those who agreed to participate were invited through an email where they were then directed to the survey on the web-enabled KnowledgePanel , which consisted of 37 questions relative to immigration issues, politics, and personal information. The respondents represented regions across the country with decent parity: 37% from the South, 23% from the West, 22% from the Midwest, and 18% from the Northeast.
Those concerned about the immigration issue placed their blame on Barack Obama (68% disapproved of his handling of immigration compared to 60% in a May poll) and 44% said Republicans in Congress deserve all or a lot of the blame for an immigration bill not being passed (along with 38% for President Obama). These messages from the American people should light a fire under those responsible for making the country's decisions.
On Tuesday the President said he was considering fewer deportations of illegal immigrants after having already offered work permits and safe harbor from deportation to about 500,000 illegal immigrant children. It is said these executive decisions could expand the protections to the parents/guardians/close family members of those given such status to stay in the US. The decision has outraged a number of Republicans, who have scheduled a vote for Thursday on a bill that calls for National Guard troops to be sent to the southern border to deter illegal immigrants from entering the country, mirroring Rick Perry's recent decision.
The respondents were also fairly split in their political affiliations, with 29% claiming they were Democrats, 28% Republicans, 24% Independents, 17% none of the above, and 3% refusing to answer. You can read more about the AP Poll on illegal immigration in this Yahoo! News article.
